Two points separate Horsman from the championship leader

Horsman hot in pursuit of British Motostar Championship title

Cameron Horsman put in another superb performance to finish second on the podium twice at Cadwell Park in the British Motostar Championship.

He has been riding the standard Honda NSF Moto3 at a superb level all season but despite the podiums he lies second in the championship trailing Scott Ogden by just two points.

Having missed the Thruxton round of the British Motostar Championship because of British Talent Cup duty Horsman had found his lead at the top had disappeared. Franco Bourne had taken full advantage and his double victories meant he was tied with Horsman at the top of the standings on 130 points. Scott Ogden, who had also been on British Talent Cup duty started third on 122 points.

Free Practice

The weather was not very kind to the British Motostar standard class riders as the race weekend got underway. The first free practice was damp and with the weather expected to improve over the weekend it was not likely to help much with bike set up. The weather then deteriorated and the second free practice session was cancelled. Horsman ended day one as the third fastest.

Qualifying

Because of the weather affected free practice on Friday, the morning qualifying session was extended to 45 minutes. The weather had changed dramatically but being one of the first classes out in the morning the track was still drying. In those conditions Horsman and the Nova Racing/SP125 team decided to sit tight in the garage. With the track conditions improving as the session went on it was pointless risking rider and machine going out at the beginning of qualifying.

With half an hour left of qualifying the number 72 emerged from his garage at Cadwell Park. Within ten minutes he led the timing sheets. Happy with the bike set up Horsman stayed out to complete 16 laps in the time left recording a 1:37.698 as he took pole in the Moto3 standard class.

Race One

For safety reasons the standard class and GP Moto3 machines start from a split grid twenty seconds apart. Horsman started on pole position but dropped a place on the opening lap. He was sat on the back wheel of championship rival Scott Ogden. Franco Bourne and Charlie Farrer were also in the leading group of four riders.

Horsman had been tucked in nicely behind Ogden but the London rider lost out when the leading standard class riders came upon the slower GP riders on just lap three. Ogden managed to overtake before Horsman and then began to open a gap of just over a second.

Horsman then had to battle with Franco Bourne and Charlie Farrer for the final two podium spots which enabled Scott Ogden to pull further ahead.

As they entered the final lap Bourne had managed to squeeze by Horsman and into second position. However, Horsman kept his cool and regained the position by the end of the race. Finishing second meant he only lost five points to Ogden in the championship race. He went into Sunday with a slender three-point lead. Franco Bourne was only one point further back.

Race Two

The grid for Sunday’s race was based on the fastest laps from race one. This meant that Horsman lined up third on the end of the front row.

It turned out to be another breath-taker of a race. Horsman made a good start moving up to second as his main rival Ogden slipped from pole to third. The same four riders broke away in the first few laps but it quickly became a two horse race.

Horsman led Ogden until the fourth lap when the rider from Doncaster managed to overtake. The two rode wheel to wheel for the full 12 laps. There was never more than a couple of tenths between them. The championship leader would be one of these two at the end of the race.

Coming out of Barn, the final corner, Horsman pulled out of the slipstream of Ogden but there wasn’t enough track before the finish line to out drag him. Horsman took a fantastic second and twenty more points finishing just 0.068 seconds from victory.

The weekend results see Horsman leave Cadwell on 170 points whilst Ogden is the new championship leader on 172.

The Forest Hill rider will get another chance at leading the championship at Oulton Park on 6 to 8th September. In the meantime, he will face Ogden again in the final round of the British Talent Cup on 23 to 25 August. Horsman will be trying his best to overcome a huge 16-point deficit to overhaul Ogden in order to take the title from the final two races in that series.

Cameron Horsman said, “In the first race we came across a slower rider from the GP class and Ogden was able to get past quicker than I was. Then I got into a battle with Bourne and Farrer whilst Ogden was able to make good use of some clear track. There was no way I could recover the gap he had made. He rode really well.

In the second race, it was much closer. I was on his back wheel the whole time just looking for where I might be able to overtake. In the end, I had to wait until the final corner but I just didn’t get enough drag to the line. We are not leading the championship after this weekend but I am not worried. It is only two points and there are still eight races left.

Now I’m only thinking about the British Talent Cup next weekend. What an amazing experience that will be to be involved in the MotoGP weekend at Silverstone.”

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